Inaugural youth entrepreneur award recognizes unique retail effort

A woman whose roots are in Saddle Lake and who now operates a store in Vancouver is the inaugural winner of the National Youth Aboriginal Entrepreneur Award.

 “I was really excited when I learned I’d won the award,” said Savannah Olsen. “Not just as an Aboriginal person but also as a woman. We are not represented enough in business and in the media and I hope that some people will be inspired. Don’t ever give up on your dreams.”

The award developed by Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business and ESS Support Services Worldwide specifically recognizes the Aboriginal youth demographic which has more than 50 per cent of the Aboriginal population in Canada under the age of 25.

CCAB board member and co-chair Erin Meehan congratulated Olsen by saying, “Your accomplishments are proof that when you dream, big things happen and lives change. Your youthful passion for your business is celebrated each day when you create jobs, buy merchandise and contribute to the economic well-being of Canadians.”

ESS is a founding and exclusive sponsor of the Aboriginal Business Hall Fame. Each year the award will recognize an up-and-coming Aboriginal entrepreneur under the age of 35 who will receive $10,000.

About eight years ago, then 26, Olsen made the decision to leave Alberta, along with her partner Walter Manning, to launch their own operation.

 “I moved to Vancouver to get started. My career has always been in retail so I was comfortable with operating a small business,” she said. “Ever since I was little, I have wanted to recreate the old general store that was so common in small towns and cities, a hub for the community with a great variety of things to offer,” said Olsen.

Manning’s background is also in retail and his grandparents operated general stores so he was excited about the concept too. Old Faithful Shop offers a store full of items that the everyday person would love and the trendy neighbourhood of Gastown was perfect for the fledgling venture. The store’s website displays unique products and quality goods for everyday living, available both on-line and in the store.

The Old Faithful Shop is located on cobblestone streets in the community, at 320 West Cordova, where the general store type of establishment fits in nicely with the atmosphere of the area. Olsen regularly stocks unique hand-crafted items to support local businesses and also to avoid mass-produced goods.

Olsen grew up in Edmonton, although her mother’s family was originally from the Saddle Lake Cree Nation.

“My mom was adopted as a baby and until the adoption files were opened in Alberta in my teenage years, we didn’t know anything about her birth mother. But soon after, we began finding her family and becoming reconnected,” said Olsen. “It was quite a journey of discovery.”